June 20, 2017

The Story Behind ONA x Saltfish Surf Co. [VIDEO]

Earlier this month, we released a new limited edition collaboration with the Venice, CA-based Saltfish Surf Co. Today, we give a behind-the-scenes look into the trip to source the bag’s materials in Oaxaca, and Bryan Mochizuki, our director of marketing & partnerships, shares how the partnership came to be:

Last July, I had the good fortune of meeting Romain Goudinoux, founder of Saltfish Surf Co., on a trip to Southern California. I was first drawn to Saltfish because of how they were elevating a very utilitarian item—surfboard bags—through their beautiful designs and materials. Over coffee at Deus Ex Machina in Venice, Romain and I found common ground in our admiration for Garrett Cornelison‘s photography, and we jotted design ideas on napkins.

In Saltfish, we saw the opportunity to collaborate with a young company at a place that ONA knew well: building from a local, community level, one thoughtful product at a time. Because photography was such an integral part of the culture and lore of Romain’s surf community, we decided to re-envision ONA’s most popular silhouette, the Bowery, with the Saltfish’s signature textiles that Romain sources from a family-owned mill in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The video above—captured by filmmaker Guigo Foggiatto—shows what happened next: we produced a prototype and Romain traveled to Mexico to road test the bag and share it with his partners. Instead of one uniform design, they produced 100 unique patterns, making each bag a one-of-a-kind piece. Almost one year after that first meeting, we’re proud to finally share this limited edition collection, and hope that you will also take the time to explore the other quality goods that Saltfish Surf Co. produces.